


she wants to get married

by haughtkhakis



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Light Angst, Post Earp Curse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 07:38:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18774196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haughtkhakis/pseuds/haughtkhakis
Summary: Waverly looked absolutely radiant and the tears Nicole had been keeping at bay were dangerously close to spilling down her face.





	she wants to get married

**Author's Note:**

> This little idea popped into my head and here we are. You might dig it or you might not, either way thanks for reading.  
> I appreciate you.

_Yeah, she wanna get married  
_ _But she don't wanna marry me_

Nicole sat at the very last row of chairs, the furthest from the makeshift altar set up at the Homestead, dressed in her best black suit, black tie, hiding. The shot of whiskey she drank in her car still burning her throat. There were pretty magnolias adorning the chairs and not too many people chattering about as they waited for the ceremony to start.

She never imagined she’d find herself here again.

The Homestead really was the perfect setting for an intimate gathering of close family and friends. The place still looked exactly the same. Well, the outside anyway. She turned to look at the house, wondering if the inside had changed any. Maybe she’d take a peek inside later, but most likely not.

Nicole knew Waverly well enough to know she wouldn’t have wanted anything fancy. She could easily picture the short brunette, a planner after all, wrangling Wynonna and Gus into staying up late, stringing up fairy lights over shots of whiskey, probably the good stuff…special occasion and all. She could see it all perfectly even now.

She swallowed back the lump forming in her throat and willed herself to stay seated.

It had been a few years since she was last in Purgatory, since the nightmare of defeating Bulshar and ending the Earp curse, since helping save Waverly and Doc from that damn forsaken garden—two years, to be exact, since her entire world turned upside down.

_And when I got the invite, I knew it was too late._

She’d been dreading this day since the invitation arrived in the mail a few months back, her surprise and wonderment at how her address was found, giving way to a hurt so strong she had to sit down to read, “ _you are cordially invited to the wedding of Waverly Earp and Perry Croft_ ”, the quiet sob that left her body made her shake and the tears threatening to fall blurred her vision.

After the garden fiasco, Nicole naively thought life would finally start looking up, that they’d finally have a chance to starting living a normal life; or as normal as it got in Purgatory, where they’d make new memories and build a quiet, happy life together.

The universe, however, had other ideas—as it often did—hell bent on sticking it to Nicole. They got Waverly back, all right; she just wasn’t  _Nicole’s_  Waverly. Not anymore.

God, she really wanted to run back to her car, grab her flask, and down the rest of the whiskey in one go—anything to help her get through this ordeal without full-on crying.

She saw Wynonna and Doc standing with an older looking Alice, crown of flowers in her hair. She smiled to herself, a sense of warmth spreading through her as she took them in.

A pang of sorrow rushed through her, watching Jeremy and Robin make their way over, Alice running, jumping up into Jeremy’s arms for a playful hug; Robin never straying far from Jeremy’s side.

They looked carefree, almost even…happy.

They’d remained friends—or friendly enough—more or less, like acquaintances do, but barely even that at this point. She debated heading over and talking to them, catching up like old friends, her leg twitched as if going to stand but she couldn’t bring herself to march over.

They weren’t her family anymore.

She briefly considered looking for Nedley and Chrissy, but the thought was gone as quickly as it came.

Blend in, so no one sees, she thought. She had gotten a gift, signed the guest book, would stay for the ceremony, and be long gone before the first “ _I do_ ” was finished being said.

Nicole caught of a glimpse of Waverly looking as beautiful as ever—glowing even—in a simple elegant white dress, matching crown of flowers atop her own head, greeting a few guests as she rushed past, not wanting Perry to see her, no doubt.

Nicole slumped down in her seat, bowing her head, hoping to go unnoticed. She could try and talk to her, get it off her chest how she had felt for two years, but the last thing she wanted was to ruin Waverly’s day. So she’d just wish her the best, and make friendly banter with her ex...fiancée (Nicole wasn’t even sure anymore), if she strode over.

As strong as Nicole was, she was only able to take so much. She had given Waverly space. She’d taken a step back, and then another, and another, but was always there. Always present. And as Waverly’s  _friend_ she stood by watching helplessly as Perry reemerged into their lives, coming around more now that the curse was broken, and Alice safely at home.

The breaking point came the day Waverly had sat her down, unshed tears in her eyes, gently explaining about how the garden had changed her, how she didn’t feel the same, not anymore. She poured her own heart out before breaking Nicole’s. Nothing would ever feel as awful as hearing the love of your life tell you they don’t love you anymore. Not being shot, or stabbed, or poisoned by face-eating body snatching centuries old witches, she was sure of it.

Throughout it all, Nicole remained ever faithful. Ever the understanding person, but she didn’t understand. Not one bit, not at all.

She had freaked out, the barrage of emotions taking their toll, running to Wynonna—clearly not at all remotely equipped to handle Nicole’s level of anguish—for comfort, downing shot after shot but nothing ever dulled the pain in her chest.

So Nicole did what was best for everyone—going against her best interest—and walked away from a career-making job.

She walked away from Purgatory, choosing to fall to pieces instead of staying, of fighting, of showing Waverly all the reasons to fall back in love with her. Thinking back, she probably took the easy way out, but no matter what, she’d always do what she felt was right, and at the time, the right thing meant leaving.

She hadn’t been back since. And she knew this would be the last.

The flutter of noise as the ceremony began broke her from her thoughts, and she glanced around to see Perry taking his place, Gus fussing over his tie, beaming, hugging him tightly before gliding over to the old beat-up piano.

The first few notes of the wedding march rang out and people stood to watch the bride make her entrance, Nicole did too, breath catching at the sight. Waverly looked absolutely radiant and the tears Nicole had been keeping at bay were dangerously close to spilling down her face. She breathed in deeply, her eyes catching Waverly’s. They smiled at each other, warmly, Waverly giving her a little wave, and Nicole managed to offer her congratulations.

A real, genuine smile pulled at her lips; as much as this hurt, Nicole couldn’t deny how breathtakingly beautiful Waverly looked. Happiness really suited her.

She stared at the altar as Wynonna unlinked their arms, sticking her hand out for Perry to shake before placing Waverly’s hand in his, then took her place behind her little sister, smiling wide, wiping away her own happy tears.

_Yeah, she wanna get married  
_ _But she ain't gonna marry me_

Nicole looked on as Gus took her place next to Alice, Doc on the other side, twirling his moustache and lowering his cowboy hat, no doubt crying too. Deciding she’d stayed long enough, she took one final gaze at the woman she’d be losing forever, turned, and made her way back to her car.

She fumbled for the key, unlocked the door and sat at the wheel, all her pent up emotions rushing out. Her tears unapologetically flowed in earnest as she wiped them away.

“Enough.” She whispered wiping harshly at her eyes one last time. She rested her hand on the gearshift and with a final glance at the standing crowd cheering on the newlyweds, applause and whistles filling the air, she drove away.

_No, she ain’t gonna marry me_

Nicole startled awake, jumping up in bed, her movements jostling the soft body next to hers as she struggled to catch her breath. One of the table lamps clicked on and she felt a warm hand rub soothing circles on her back.

“Baby. Hey, you’re okay. It’s alright.” A gentle voice cooed in her ear.

Nicole willed her body to calm down, using the breathing exercises her therapist had giving her. Once she relaxed enough, she turned to look at her soon-to-be wife, worry etched across her face. She flopped down onto her back and covered her eyes with her arms, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

It was just a dream. An incredibly vivid, dumb dream.

“Are you okay?” Waverly asked, pulling Nicole’s arms away from her face, brushing some stray tendrils of hair from her forehead.

“I’m okay. Just a...bad dream.”

“A nightmare?” Waverly questioned, her eyes wide and searching.

“No, no, babe, just a bad dream.” Nicole said fervently. “We really got to stop watching murder shows right before bed,” she teased.

“You swear it wasn’t a nightmare?”

“I swear.”

“Good. You need to get plenty of rest before our big day.” Even in the dimly lit room Nicole could see the pure joy spread across Waverly’s face. “I can’t have you all bent out of shape.” She pecked Nicole’s lips chastely, the barest hint of a touch, before dipping down to nibble at her earlobe.

“We’re saving that for our honeymoon,” she breathed into her ear, “I’ve been thinking up all kinds of naughty new ways to bend you.” She whispered wickedly turning to take Nicole’s mouth against her own, hot and teasing. She pulled back with a pop. “So rest up now, baby.”

_Yeah, she wants to get married  
_ _She wants it perfect_

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to @comelayinmybed for the beta assist in polishing this up. They're awesome and you all should go read their [stuff](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/comelayinmybed/pseuds/comelayinmybed), if you haven't already. It's some top quality reading material.
> 
> Song inspiration: Marry Me by Thomas Rhett (yeah, a country song)


End file.
